ROOT of the Problem
by Sink into Darkness
Summary: Minato had an ability that was coveted and feared. An ability that was passed on to his daughter, Uzumaki Naru. But the fears that not only will her true parentage be revealed but that the council will demand her blood when they discover her secret. In order to protect her, Hiruzen makes a deal with the devil, and allows Danzo to train her in exchange for protection.
1. Chapter 1

Anything that you see here is not owned by me, the characters and the world is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto.

Read and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The third Hokage was stuck. There was no way out of this situation, there were countless witnesses that saw the Yondaime seal the Kyuubi into a new born babe. They saw his death and they saw the seal seared into the child's stomach. It would be impossible to tell them otherwise. On top of his worry from the Nin that would cry for retribution, the Sandaime also had to fear the decision of the council. Danzo in particular was a danger to the young Jinchuuriki.

_Oh Minato, how I have failed you._

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the Yondaime's secret daughter and a tear escaped his battle-hardened eyes. May the Gods be with you Namikaze Naru.

* * *

The Hokage tiredly ran a hand over his haggard face. The council meeting had been ongoing for almost two hours and still they had not come to an agreement.

"It should be placed in the ANBU corps, trained so that when the time comes we may utilize all that power. Also during training the Jinchuuriki will be under constant surveillance, we will always know how close to the surface the nine-tails really is,"

There were grumbles of agreement from some but then another voice rose up in protest, "Danzo that is insanity, give the Demon more power, more control so that she might use the beast against us? I say it should be killed now, while it is still vulnerable?" Hiruzen sighed again and held up his hands for silence.

"Since none of you can come to a unanimous decision, I will make one for you. The Jinchuuriki child will remain with my family until she is old enough to begin using chakra—" Hiruzen let his eyes fall over each council member, expression hard and resolve unmoving "—until she is of the age to join the ninja academy so that she may be a normal Konohanagakure citizen."

Danzo now looked furious; Hiruzen gave a smirk at that. He tried to say something again but the aged Hokage wouldn't hear it. "It has been a tiring night for us all. If you wish to appeal this then we shall meet at another time, good night gentlemen and ladies of the council. This meeting is finished."

He knew this was not the end of the matter but he could still sleep soundly knowing that Naru was safe for one more night.

* * *

The next few weeks were even harder on the reinstated Hokage. Even though they had been saved by the Yondaime, the village was still in shambles, there just simply not enough man power to fix all the damage as quickly as they needed to. The death toll was still rising and many people were mad with grief. This grief had caused many to lash out, and now, thanks to the council, they knew who they could blame.

He could sympathize with the people, they were angry with the violation of their home and the loss the Kyuubi attack pressed onto their lives. But he couldn't condone their actions of wanting to harm an innocent child. This is exactly what Naru was, despite the seal containing the demon lord.

He couldn't understand why they refused to see her as what she was, their savior.

Hiruzen thought that after the first few executions people and ninja would be discouraged from making attempts at Naru's life, he thought that they would stop all together soon enough. But looking down at Naru now, he knew that these thoughts would never come to fruition. Uzumaki Naru had inherited her father's bloodline, an outcome that Minato had prayed was never going to happen.

He could hardly comprehend that it would manifest itself in one so young. But the signs were unmistakable. How else could it be that Naru was showing demonic traits when the seal was fully functional? Her eyes, clearly inhuman.

It could only be that feared bloodline.

The Yondaime Hokage had been famous for many things, but one of his most revered traits was his ability to be able to absorb and utilize someone else's techniques, bloodline traits, strengths, and special abilities even though it was for a limited amount of time.

Not many understood how it worked, the true workings of any trait are kept jealously by the clans that own them, but Hiruzen knew that all it took was a drop of foreign energy or genetic material and the Namikaze's bodies would mimic any specialty that the alien intrusion carried.

And now the Sandaime Hokage feared that as the seal forced the Nine-tailed fox's chakra to assimilate into Naru's coils, her body was reacting to the continued flow of chakra coming from the demon and overwhelming her body.

All hope was lost.

* * *

It was three weeks after the Kyuubi attack that marked the first time Danzo came to visit and the Sandaime was terrified. Naru was constantly switching between human and demon form without warning. The implications of her switch of forms was damning evidence. There was no way that the council member would not guess Naru's true parentage, or he would take it as their proof that the child was the Demon itself. So Hiruzen decided that he would strike a deal with the council member and ROOT leader in exchange for his silence and support when it came to the Jinchuuriki.

Danzo arrived and the Sandaime took him in to his small private office. He was praying to any God that would listen that he would be able to put off the inevitable. That Danzo would not find out about Naru's true heritage, he prayed, begging for mercy on her behalf.

But it was not to be.

"Enough stalling Hokage-sama. Where is the girl? I would like to see one of my future students," Hiruzen's expression became grave and he stood up behind his heavy desk.

"Danzo I am willing to make a deal with you, one that the council need not know about, will you listen?"

"It depends Hokage-sama, what kind of a deal are we speaking of?"

Hiruzen took a deep breath and pushed away the feeling of regret in his heart. Somehow, despite this being for her own good, this felt like a betrayal to both the Yondaime and his legacy.

"I will allow you to train Naru as you see fit with little to no interference from me, for as long as you see fit. I will even allow here to be placed in ROOT until she is needed by Konoha and its people. In return I ask that whatever you learn here today, you will keep it between us, and that you will stand behind me when it comes to the council matters involving the Jinchuuriki. Is this acceptable?"

The greed sparkling in Danzo's eyes spoke of his feelings in this matter but he hesitated before giving the Hokage an answer. "What is so horrible that you must hide the girl behind me Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen didn't answer but, instead he motioned for Danzo to follow him. The two ancient and powerful men left the office and headed towards the nursery, silence stretching between them.

They came into the bright yellow nursery and Hiruzen motioned for Danzo to look inside the crib lying next to the far wall. He did so with caution, wondering what so important that the Hokage was giving into his wishes and going against his own beliefs.

What he saw made him gape in unexpected astonishment.

The little blond babe whose face was once chubby and innocent and unmistakably _human_ was now something entirely _not_. The once golden blond tuft of soft, gently curled hair was now tainted with a reddish hue, vibrant red highlights running through the babe's hair. The babe's eyes once a clear, sky blue were now darkened into a deep violet, with obvious influence from the Kyuubi's own demonic red. The whisker marks that marred each cheek were slightly wider and deeper into her skin. Baby fat that once padded her cheeks was gone and her face, became more angular, more cat-like or in this case, fox-like.

All in all, the girl looked as if she was turning into the Nine-tailed fox demon, but that was impossible…unless.

"The Yondaime would use his own child to seal the demon? I, along with everyone else, was under the impression that the Yondaime's wife had died during childbirth and that the baby passed with her," he paused for a moment and then continued, resolve shining in his eye. "Never mind that, I agree with your terms and conditions Hokage-sama. When may I start her training?"

The Hokage, with a resigned look in his eyes, nodded at Danzo's acceptance and informed him that he would keep close tabs on the Jinchuuriki and would inform him as soon as she showed the first signs of being able to push chakra through her coils safely.

"I want to begin classes earlier, teach her the theory and basics. There is no point in wasting time Hokage-sama," he said with a sly smile. Hiruzen only nodded once, conceding to Danzo's request

They talked a few more minutes over the strangely silent and still Naru before Danzo excused himself and left the Hokage with his successor's daughter.

"I hope you will forgive an old man for his inability to protect you Naru. I just hope that you will be strong and that someday, you will break free and be on your own."

Naru's only response was to cry in discomfort as the Kyuubi-like features faded away to reveal ones that were purely Minato's.

* * *

For three years Hiruzen and his wife cared for and protected Naru, and the child grew quickly. When a she was three Danzo arranged for a teacher to begin her basic education, reading and writing, history and basic math.

When Naru was six the Sandaime took her to Danzo's personal training grounds and left her there, telling her that he was to be her new teacher and that she was to obey him at all times.

She only nodded at him and smiled, trust shining in her, at the moment, blue orbs. During these lessons Danzo would have little Naru learning how to read and how to write and he also added lessons of strategy and battle tactics. For the next few weeks he continued to teach her these things before adding more theory and tactical knowledge.

Over the next few years Naru would see Danzo or one of his subordinates every day. By the time she was six she had the practical knowledge of a Genin graduate and Danzo had begun to add physical training.

And she was everything that Danzo had hoped she would be; dedicated, talented, a chakra monster. But most of all Naru had the unique ability to learn a technique mere hours after it was first introduced to her, she was always eager to learn. She was the perfect student.

* * *

Naru used to be a happy child, she lived with the Sandaime Hokage, her honorary grandfather, and her life was simple. Every day since she was three she would meet up with Izumi-sensei or one of his subordinates and she would learn about the theory and history of the ninja. He taught her to write, he taught her all the most vulnerable points on the human body. He also had her learn infiltration techniques and camouflage, her best subjects.

But at the end of the day she got to go back to the Sarutobi estate and have dinner with her Jiji-san. That is, until she turned six. Hiruzen tried to explain to her the reason why she had to move, he also tried to tell her that this didn't mean that he didn't love her, it was just the council didn't want him to be showing special treatment to non-family.

So with a heavy heart Naru packed all her belongings into one of the special scrolls that her Jiji had given her. He had said that, since she was too young to live on her own but she couldn't stay with the Sandaime, she would move into the ROOT headquarters where her training would continue.

It was at this point that her life changed its course.


	2. Chapter 2

Danzo sat at his desk and regarded the small figure kneeling in front of him. Naru had grown into the perfect weapon in the short amount of time that he had her all to himself without any interference from the Hokage. Once she had moved into the ROOT complex, her real training had begun.

They trained long and hard, mostly in chakra control and keeping her transformations either permanent or stopping them all together. Then her training evolved into that of the normal ROOT members and Danzo couldn't be happier.

"Kitsune, it is time for you to return to the village ninja ranks. As you are now of age to take the Genin exams the Hokage has requested your presence on one of the Genin teams. You will barely pass these exams, and you will never show the true extent of your abilities, including you chakra control. Also the Hokage would like me to inform you that, if all goes well, the Chunnin exam will be held in Konoha this year and, in the event that you get promoted, your heritage will be revealed to whoever you choose to hold the knowledge. And one last thing, your teammates and sensei will be on a need-to-know basis only. Any information regarding you or your involvement with ROOT or myself is to be strictly confidential. Am I understood, Naru?" at the sound of her name Naru removed the blank mask, only a wide thin smile marking the bone white surface.

"Understood Danzo-sama. Will I be returning to ROOT after achieving Chunnin rank?"

"Hmm. I'm afraid not my dear, the Sandaime has it arranged that once you achieve Chunnin rank you will be trained by a Jounin and then inducted into ANBU service. But I trust that you understand, your loyalty is always to be with me and ROOT?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama," her emotionless voice intoned.

"Good. Hand in your mask and sword Namikaze Naru and receive your paper work for the academy. I shall see you again soon,"

With that Naru, codename Kitsune, placed the porcelain mask on his desk and exchanged it for the id card and other paperwork stating her name as Uzumaki Naru.

Without any other exchange she turned abruptly and silently exited the building, missing the last words Danzo whispered to the empty room, "She won't escape my grasp so easily Hiruzen."

* * *

Naru couldn't understand how children, especially ones training to be ninja, could be so naïve. It was her first day of academy classes and she had the unfortunate experience of being seated between two vapid girls mooning over the last Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool! Did you see him at the barbecue house last night? He had a full steak to himself and he was sitting there all alone, I almost went up to him and asked if I could sit with him! It was so exciting."

Personally Naru couldn't see what was so amazing about the last Uchiha eating dinner at a restaurant. She snuck a peak at the boy in question and shook her head in disbelief. She definitely couldn't see what they saw in him.

"That's nothing Sakura, last Friday he came into my family's flower shop while I was working. He bought a bouquet of forget-me-nots and told me it was for his family's graves."

Naru found their conversation to be pointless and somewhat annoying, so she tuned them out and instead focused on the teacher coming into the room. One of the factors as to why Naru thought these children where completely unprepared for the life of a ninja was how unaware they were of their surroundings. She came to this conclusion because no one, except the boy from the Nara clan, noticed that she had joined their class. They had been together for four or five years already and they were completely absorbed in themselves that they were oblivious to a new student.

Naru's musings and perplexed thoughts were cut short, along with most of the chatter going on in the classroom, when the sensei, an Umino Iruka, arrived with his co-worker Mizuki.

"Alright class, today we have our final exam, Mizuki and myself will be asking you to come into the separate room here and will give you the practical portion of your exam. I would also like to note that today we have a visitor who will be taking the exam with you. Uzumaki Naru," with that being said the rest of the class turned around and finally noticed her. She just smiled a wide, emotionless grin and gave a half wave to the imbeciles staring at her.

Once most people lost interest the testing began.

The first name called was that of a civilian's child and Naru allowed herself to continue observing the group of potential Genin. Out of the twenty or so children only thirteen were from clans and only seven were from the greater clans. Not including herself of course.

Names were called and Naru sat patiently, the only twelve year-old to do so beside the Uchiha boy, the Nara and the Aburame all three from prestigious clans. Then finally her fake name was called.

"Uzumaki Naru."

She gracefully stood from her seat, aware of the eyes trained on her form, and made her way to the side room where they'd be testing her.

Inside Umino and Mizuki were sitting behind a large table and were studying her shrewdly.

"All that is required is for you to successfully make three clones and hold them for at least two minutes," Naru furrowed her golden brows at this pathetic excuse for a Genin exam and did as asked.

Iruka's face betrayed surprise at the display by a ninja who hadn't attended the academy. But nonetheless he gave her a smile and handed her a paper, "Very well done Miss Uzumaki, please take this, it is the written portion of the exam that the other students have taken yesterday, you may move into the third room and when you are finished you may return to the original room. Good luck," He smiled genially at her while hold a small stack of papers out to her.

Naru canceled her clones and grabbed the papers. Once in the third room she started on the test and found the entire thing to be too simple. The questions were similar to the ones that Danzo gave her in her second and third year of studying.

_What was the fourth Hokage famous for?_

_Who founded the village of Konohanagakure?_

_Who are Konoha's strongest allies?_

_Who are the weakest allies?_

All of these questions were ridiculous. From her short time in the academy's system Naru could understand Danzo's disgusted attitude towards the style and method Konoha had of teaching prospective ninja. These children would have to go through a lot of pain, heartache and loss before they grew into respected ninja. Naru herself was just glad that she had gone through all that already, and that she didn't have a heart that could break or feel loss.

Not even three minutes later Naru was finished with the test and she made her way back into the main room, leaving her answers with Umino Iruka on her way out.

Once she did so he swept a quick eye over her work and rewarded her with a hitai-ate and congratulations.

She took her spot in between the two loudmouthed girls and instead of interacting with any of them she took to focusing on the hitai-ate in her hands. The cloth used to tie it was the typical blue that most ninja around the village had. She admired it for a second before tying it under her bangs allowing the golden blond hair to cover the forehead protector.

By the time that the last prospective Genin finished with the exam, Naru was thoroughly bored enough to have gone through all she knew about the Genin in the room. From what she knew of the Uchiha massacre it was a violent and traumatizing event, and she was surprised that no one was keeping a closer eye on the last loyal Uchiha.

An event like the one that took place in the Uchiha compound had the likely possibility of producing the most unstable and unhinged ninjas often bent on revenge. She could easily see the Uchiha heir taking that path of revenge against his older brother Uchiha Itachi.

Then there was the Nara boy, Shikamaru. He, according to his records, had an amazingly high IQ, but all that talent was counteracted by his perpetual laziness and disinterest in everything.

Next was the bug user, Aburame Shino, he had intelligence and power, but, do to the treatment he received at the hands of the villagers and other close-minded ninja, (usually those that came from civilian families) he had no confidence to speak of.

Likewise there was the current Hyuuga heir, Hinata, and it was very obvious to Naru that Hinata's family didn't encourage and support her the way they should have. The girl was a twitching mess, she could hardly look anyone in the eyes without flinching and turning away.

And they weren't the only ones. It seemed that Danzo-sama's view of the current way-of-life in Konoha was less than it used to be. People have gotten soft while simultaneously growing colder and less accepting of the strongest people and talents in the village.

So she sighed in disappointment and made a promise to herself that she would help Danzo-sama fix the wrongdoings in Konoha, to bring it back to its former glory.

* * *

Naru looked up once Umino came back in, his white haired friend trailing behind him. "Okay then, congratulations to those of you who passed your Genin exams! And to those of you who didn't make it, another test will be given two months from now so don't give up!" it was here that he smiled and passed out a few papers to those dunderheads who weren't able to make it. While he was doing this, Naru noticed that the white haired teacher, Mizuki, was eyeing one of the civilian born boys who was crying gently into his shirt. Although it was an innocent interaction, something about it made Naru pause and take closer attention. But she could tell that, whatever it was, Mizuki wouldn't approach the boy until later.

"Also, for those of you that are new Genin, make sure to be here on time tomorrow for your team assignments, eight o'clock everybody. Dismissed!"

With those last words the kids poured out of the academy room, each in a rush to escape the place they've been in for the past five to six years. Naru just calmly made her way outside, having seen Mizuki follow the civilian boy.

Once on the playground Naru could see Mizuki following the young brunet to the swing-set. She concentrated on pooling her chakra into her ears and focused on the conversation happening twenty or more feet away.

"—but Iruka and I want the best for you, and that's why I'll tell you about the alternative test," this sentence in particular caught her interest, for she knew that there were very few alternative ways there were to gain the title of Genin. She focused harder, "All you have to do Nobaru, is learn one technique from the forbidden scroll. But because it's so late in they've already locked it up for the day, so you'll have to find a way to do it tonight. And if you can show me today that you've learned just one of the jutsu from the scroll I'll make sure you make it to the team assignment tomorrow! I promise."

By now Naru was extremely disturbed, no one was even paying attention to the fact that one of the teachers was corrupt and essentially blackmailing a student into stealing the sacred forbidden scroll. Naru almost took a step forward ready to intercept the traitor when her tenant spoke up for the first time in days.

_Hey, kid, leave the situation as it is. You have no proof yet, just follow the boy and wait until the traitor tries to take it from him. That way no one can doubt you._

Naru paused a moment and decided to listen, the fox made a lot of sense. She was surprised by his interest in the situation. Usually he only spoke to her when it had to do with helping train her (as per their agreement) or when she was on a mission that involved a lot of bloodshed.

So for the rest of the day Naru followed the academy student at a distance, hoping that he wouldn't follow the manipulations of an unbalanced man. But against all hope, three hours from sundown Naru saw him sneak into the Hokage tower and steal the supposedly heavily guarded scroll.

Again, Naru was struck with the laziness and the negligence of the Konoha shinobi. They ignored and underestimated a twelve year-old boy and let him get away with a priceless artifact. Scoffing in distain she jumped after the boy instead of staying around or informing someone of the situation. It was hours later while the boy was still trying to learn from the scroll that the alarm went off informing the rest of the ninja that the scroll was gone. So she landed silently behind the boy and knocked him out, hiding his unconscious body so that he wouldn't be in the way if the fight got too rowdy. From there she used the fox's chakra to henge into the civilian brat and read the scroll while waiting for Mizuki.

Surprisingly the forbidden scroll was filled with simple, yet devastating techniques that ate up a lot of chakra but got the job done. These were the types of jutsu that Naru excelled at, as the Kyuubi's endless reserves were added to her own impressive ones.

By the time someone found her she had already learned the basics of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu or the Shadow clone jutsu and gone over the theory of a technique that allowed one to permanently change one's shape and appearance. Also a few minutes before her confrontation she decided to copy the scroll as it could be useful to Danzo-sama in the future. In doing this she found the notes and instructions to a powerful seal, the very same seal that resided on her stomach.

_Hey fox did you know about this? Is this why you encouraged me to let the boy steal it first?_

_**Hmm…Possibly, but it is always wise to know what your enemy does not want you to know.**_

Naru just smiled fondly and shook her head, deciding to focus on the chakra signature sitting just on the edge of her muted senses.

She just allowed her fond smile to morph into the predatory grin that made grown men shiver in fear and let her eyes bleed violet. 'Time to let the games begin, Kyuubi.'


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Naru arrived at the ninja academy and sat in the seat next to the brooding Uchiha. They both sat there in comfortable silence when the two gossip-mongers from yesterday burst through the door.

"IWASFIRST!" the overlapping screeches made everyone in the room flinch, Naru just rolled her eyes at the juvenile behavior of the so-called kunoichi. It was still hard for her to believe that these children only had to pass such a simple test in order to officially become ninja.

But during her musings the blond girl and the pinkette were in front of her with their hands on their hips, large pouts on their faces. Naru raised her eyebrows.

"You're in my seat lady,"

"You mean my seat Ino, I got here first!"

The girls glared at each other and sparks seemed to fly between them.

"No, I was here first, and she's in MY seat." Both girls huffed and looked back at Naru, who hadn't budged.

"You children need to grow up. If you don't, I guarantee that you'll die during your first real mission," all this was said emotionlessly and Naru could care less what they thought of her.

But to her surprise both girls had pulled her to her feet and pushed her off the chair. She went flying and was so surprised that she didn't lift a hand to attack back. Coincidently Uchiha Sasuke's seat was right in the path of her falling body and within seconds she found herself in the extremely awkward position of sitting in the last loyal Uchiha's lap. His hand had somehow found their way to rest on her hips and their faces ended up scarily close together.

The two were completely frozen for a few seconds and a blush could be seen rising on the stoic boy's face before Naru flung herself off, hating any and all kinds of human contact. She stood and spun to face the pathetic girls ready to knock their dreams into the gutter, ignoring the whole interaction with the Uchiha, when Umino Iruka entered the room, the absence of the white haired male trailing after him glaringly obvious.

"Sit down class,"

He stood in front of his students and pulled a stack of papers from the desk behind him. He cleared his throat and addressed the class again, "Congratulations new Genin, you've worked long and hard to get here and we are all proud of you. Like I told you yesterday, I will be reading off your team assignments. These teams were formed by the Hokage himself, with input from myself and other instructors you've had over the years. Remember that these teams are important; the people on your team will be the ones watching your back and working with you up until you achieve Jounin rank. Treat them with respect because you are stuck with them, If your team fails, you fail."

His passionate speech was lost on the majority of the kids as they were too busy playing with their hitai-ate or talking with each other to listen. They had a lot to learn. Naru herself was once like them, naïve and self-centered, but that was back before she moved into the compound with the ROOT members, back when she was six.

Umino then began to call out the team arrangements and Naru waited patiently for her name to be called. After the incident with Mizuki, Naru visited the ROOT headquarters to have a quick chat with her sensei.

_Danzo-sama, I have intercepted the traitor Mizuki and the ANBU have safely retrieved the scroll and returned it to the Hokage," for a moment Naru was about to mention the copy of the scroll that she had made before the ANBU had found her. But the Kyuubi's voice warned her against it._

_Danzo swore but he congratulated her for her success in stopping the traitor._

_She regarded him quietly for a moment and then asked him a question that had been nagging at her brain._

"_Danzo-sama, what team am I to be placed on? I only ask because I have seen the truth of your words in that the children allowed to graduate from the academy are pathetic. I was also wondering if I must waste all my time with them or if I may continue to be of service to you in the future with out the Sandaime's knowledge?"_

_The smile he gave her was not kind, but it was admiring. "Of course Kitsune, the Hokage has decided to place you on a team with the Uchiha and another civilian girl of no importance, but just because most of your time must be spent with them does not mean that all of it has to be. When I have need of your skills I will send for you. Dismissed," his timber never wavered and Naru felt relief knowing that she wouldn't have to stay hidden forever._

"Team Seven will be…Uchiha Sasuke…" a collective breath was inhaled from more than half of the females in the room, "…Haruno Sakura…" A loud squeal of 'YES! TAKE THAT INO-PIG' interrupted the listing of names and Naru grimaced in pain, she would have to spend at least two years with that talentless pathetic excuse for a kunoichi. Danzo's warning allowed her to remain impassive however when Umino Iruka called her name, "…and Uzumaki Naru."

They just so happened to be sitting in the same row so they had no need to group together. Once Umino Iruka was finished announcing the team cells he added one more thing, "Now that you've been assigned your team members I'd appreciate it if you spent your lunch period with your team so that you can get to know them before your new Jounin sensei comes to pick you up."

With that said he graced the children with a sad smile and allowed them to leave for lunch. Immediately Naru saw how difficult things would be with the Uchiha and the useless fan-girl on her team. He wasted no time in disappearing from view to escape the rabid clutches of the pink haired Haruno girl.

Naru sighed in disappointment and went off on her own to eat lunch and wait until their sensei came to pick them up. Absentmindedly she wondered who the Sandaime had chosen to teach her and the Uchiha. She thought about it some and concluded that it would either be Morino-san or Hatake-san and if she added herself into the mix, the Hokage was more likely to choose someone who she had a past connection with, meaning that it was most likely to be Hatake Kakashi, her father's greatest student.

Taking into account of what she knew of the infamous Jounin, Naru decided to take a long break and meditate.

Two hours later Naru and her two 'teammates' sat in the empty room still waiting for their elusive sensei. The Haruno girl was pouting in the corner and the Uchiha was brooding in his seat, his eyes hardly straying from the door-way in which their teacher was supposed to come through.

Naru was sitting away from the two, not wanting to sit next to the Uchiha so as to not upset the crazy pinkette. Soon though the uncomfortable silence was broken by footsteps approaching the door way. Naru could tell by the strength of the chakra that this was most likely him.

The door slid open and the three Genin were greeted with the sight of the notorious Hatake Kakashi. His silver hair was spiked upwards but the somewhat short mass tilted to one side, as if he didn't quite have enough gel to keep it straight. His hitai-ate was also tilted on his forehead and it slid down to cover one eye, moving her eyes lower on his face Naru observed the black mask that covered from his nose down to his neck, a mask that she knew he never removed in plain view.

He wore the most drab of shinobi attire and the normal green flak jacket adorned his torso announcing his Jounin rank. The one visible eye was crinkled in a mysterious smile and he gave them a half hearted wave.

"Yo, brats meet me on the roof."

And that was it, those were the only words he gave them as he disappeared in a puff of smoke and a swirl of brown, green and yellow leaves. Naru dispassionately headed towards the roof instead of using a similar technique to transport there.

Once they were all on the roof, Haruno being the last one, the Jounin regarded them with his visible eye, "Why don't you introduce your selves?"

Haruno, being the only loudmouth there decided to show the world how dependant she was of straight forward questions and ideas and she burst out, "What do you mean sensei? Could you give us an example?" Hatake must have been as exasperated as Naru was but he appeased Haruno anyway.

"Of course Pinky! My name is Hatake Kakashi, call me Kakashi-sensei, and I have many likes, many dislikes and a few hobbies, I also have a great, amazing dream. Your turn!" his one visible eye crinkled in a smile and the Haruno fumed at him, he hadn't given them anything but his name, and Naru already knew that.

Haruno's introduction was nothing but a large cry of attention to Sasuke and it proved how juvenile she was. That her dream was to marry the Uchiha spoke of her own stupidity and Naru had the sneaking suspicion that the only reason Haruno had chosen the ninja profession was due to the Uchiha survivor.

The Uchiha's introduction only confirmed what Naru suspected, that he was an emotionally stunted, most likely disturbed, child whose only goal in life was to find and kill his older brother to avenge his family's murder. His obsession would lead him on a dark path, one that may cause him to abandon the village. She would have to keep an eye on him to report back to Danzo.

Finally it was her turn and she turned to her teacher smiling as best she could and gave him a little wave, "Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naru, I like training and cute animals, (_she had to fake this believably after all, and she couldn't appear to be too far ahead of the other Genin_) I dislike people who judge others and oranges. My hobbies are reading and flower arranging. My dream is to one day find the perfect guy and to have a huge family!" She ended her huge bullshit lie with a false happy wave of her hands and a grin that she wasn't sure would fool the Copy-cat nin. But to her surprise he just nodded and looked away in disinterest.

"Well great, now that we all know each other make sure to meet me at training ground three tomorrow at six. We'll be doing some survival training so you might not want to eat breakfast, the possibility of throwing it back up is high."

"But Kakashi-sensei," the annoying Haruno interrupted him, "we already did survival training in the academy why do we have to do it again?" He whining was getting on Naru's nerves and she had to contain the urge to slap the girl silly.

"Well this is actually more important than the stuff the teach you at the academy, cause if you guys fail this training I get to send you back to the academy."

A stunned silence followed his announcement. But with Haruno around it wasn't to last.

"But we already passed the Genin exams! You can't do that!"

"Ah but you see, those weren't the actual Genin exams those were just to test you to see if you have the potential to become a ninja. The real exam starts tomorrow at six. And this one has a sixty-eight percent failure rate, so make sure to get lots of sleep."

With that Sharingan-Kakashi used the transportation jutsu and vanished in the cloud of smoke and leaves once again.

While the Uchiha and the Haruno were spluttering in disbelief and indignation, Naru was just pleased that they at least did something to prevent all those unprepared children from becoming ninja. But despite how unprepared she thought both the pinkette and the Uchiha were it was still her duty to make sure they passed. She turned to her teammates, "Nah, Hatake-sensei isn't very nice is he Haruno-san?"

Haruno turned to look at her and she scowled, "That isn't very nice of you to say that about Kakashi-sensei," in the next moment she completely ignored the ROOT member and proceeded to bug the brooding avenger instead, "So, Sasuke-kun, wana go eat something with me?"

"No."

She spluttered and sent the inexpressive boy a wounded look, but continued to flit around him while he walked away, trying to start a conversation with him. For a moment Naru pitied him for having such horrible girls always chasing after him. But then her stupid grin fell off her face and she stood. Walking to the ledge she watched impassively as the village people walked around.

In a swift move she dropped from the rooftop and landed in the playground taking off at a run. Her apartment was on the other side of town and she had to meet with the Hokage first.

She entered the tower through a window on the top floor and by-passed the secretary all together before knocking gently on the Sandaime's door.

"Come in Naru-chan."

"Hokage-sama," Naru knelt before the Sandaime's desk with her head bowed, the way that they taught the ANBU to greet their leader. Because her head was down Naru missed the glimmer of sadness that tinted her once close friend's eyes, her Jiji.

"Naru-chan please, stand up. I summoned you here today to ask how you were doing not as my ninja but as my surrogate granddaughter," he stood from behind his desk and maneuvered around it to wrap his arms around the unresponsive Jinchuuriki.

* * *

Hiruzen leaned back and regarded Naru with pain filled eyes. The young girl's once purely blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, her bangs falling gently over her eyes.

Unlike when Naru was younger, she didn't switch between human and half demon anymore. During her training with Danzo he taught her how to control that small part of her that came from her father's blood. Now—either due to the amount of time Naru spent training or due to the fact that without her doing anything she is always absorbing a part of the Kyuubi—Naru's permanent form was a mix of her half demon one.

Her hair was mostly the golden blond of her father's but it also had streaks of blood red running through her waist length tresses. It was slightly wavy but she mostly kept it in a high ponytail so that it was kept out of the way during missions or training. Her eyes, once a wide and clear, crystal blue, were narrowed, possibly due to age but also due to the influence the Nine-tails DNA had on her, and replaced by a harsh and piercing violet.

The three whisker marks on each of her cheeks were thinner but deeper and darker than they were when she was young. Even though she looked completely human, there was an air surrounding her that felt feral and made you think twice about approaching her, also the shape of her face could, for a split second, seem thinner and more angular than a human one.

But ignoring all this, the most important thing was that she was safe, and she would be able to defend herself if it ever came down to it, even if it meant that emotionally she might never be the same.

So with a sigh, Hiruzen pulled away from the unresponsive girl and sat back down in his seat, "So, what do you think of your new teammates?"

Naru pondered the question before answering how Danzo-sama taught her, "They're acceptable Hokage-sama, but the pink haired one is too obsessed with the Uchiha and the Uchiha is only obsessed with getting stronger."

The Hokage chuckled and mumbled something that sounded like 'young love' and Naru shuddered, if that's what love was like, she never wanted to experience it. Focusing on these mundane thoughts helped her conceal her real opinions on the matter, mostly that she thought Konoha was lacking in the hard-work, discipline and talent section of the new and even of the old shinobi; that, and the fact that she thinks her pink haired teammate is a waste of time.

The Hokage just continued, "And what of your teacher Hatake Kakashi?" The smile he gave her was wide and knowing.

"He is very tardy and he likes to confuse us. I don't think he'll be a very motivated teacher."

"Oh you must forgive Kakashi. He hasn't had any other commitments, besides a few missions here and there, for quite some time," The genial tone the Hokage's voice took made Naru internally roll her eyes, but she said nothing, only nodding her head as acceptance of the Sandaime's words.

"Well then Naru I'm glad that you are doing well and that you like your new team-" How he understood that from what she had told him was beyond her. "-and I hope that your final test goes well tomorrow. Remember that you are always welcome to come and talk to me if you ever feel the need."

He gifted her with one of his wrinkly eye smiles and allowed her to leave. Once outside of the building Naru relaxed, not even realizing that she had been tense. She spotted her apartment from the rooftops and breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in months she would have a nice long, decent sleep. After all Kakashi would probably be late.

* * *

Naru dressed the next morning in a white tank top and a burgundy throw-over that tied under her bust and had long sleeves that opened in a bell shape over her hands. She had a pair of dark red shorts that reached half way to mid-thigh. Bandages were wrapped around her right leg and her weapon pouch was strapped to the opposite leg. She tied her hitai-ate around her forehead, under her bangs and was satisfied with the new black cloth that she used to replace the plain blue one.

She packed a few scrolls into her weapon pouch and locked her apartment. Running towards the training grounds Hatake had mentioned the day before.

She arrived and the Uchiha looked murderous, Haruno was hanging off his arm and was chattering away. Naru almost laughed at the scene. But at that moment her teammates noticed her and Uchiha jumped at the chance to get away from his rabid fan-girl.

"Where were you, you're late!" Naru actually did let a small laugh out at this. She never thought she'd see the day where the cold, emotionless Uchiha would be flustered and panic-y. He glared at her when he heard her laughter.

"Well, I did some research on Hatake-sensei and I found out that he's almost always two hours late to appointments that don't have an element of urgency," The Uchiha's eyebrows raised into his hairline.

"You went and did research on Kakashi-sensei after we all went home?" He seemed impressed and Naru wanted to slap herself in the face, these Genin had no life experience. So she continued.

"Of course I did, one is always supposed to know both your enemies and your friends, right?" She could see the cogs turning in his head and she felt satisfied with the knowledge that it was her that was encouraging him to think.

Naru smiled sweetly at him and her eyes crinkled each becoming an upside down "U" thus missing the blush that rose to the surface when he got a good look at her outfit.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Their interaction was interrupted by Haruno's desperate yells.

"You should go Uchiha-san, Miss Haruno will kill me if she sees you talking to me when you refuse to talk to her," Naru's sheepish expression made Sasuke roll his eyes and actually snort.

"Call me Sasuke, I don't like being called Uchiha-san, at least not by normal human beings," this last part was aimed at the approaching figure of the pinkette and Naru let out a soft laugh again.

"Of course Sasuke-san."

"What are you doing here so late, Naru-baka? Kakashi-sensei told us to be here at six, and it's now almost eight-thirty!" Naru just smiled at her and she could tell the fakeness of it shocked the simpering, fan-girl.

"I know what I'm doing Haruno-san, please do not pry into my personal life, as I do not know you like that. Also I would like to add, do you see Hatake-sensei anywhere?" this statement made her pause and stick her lower lip out in an awful pout that made her brow crinkle and only made her prominent forehead stand out even more.

With that said Naru sat down to wait for their new sensei. Sasuke took a seat on the other side of where Haruno was standing and she, ignoring his obvious body language, sat down next to him, latching onto his arm. But of course Haruno had to have the last word, "Don't call me Haruno! You make me sound like an old lady!"

* * *

It was almost noon when Hatake finally showed up only giving them a weak excuse and an unenthusiastic, "Yo."

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Sakura, ever the loud mouth, screamed while she pointed her finger at him in accusation. All Kakashi did was smile—well they assumed he smiled because they saw how his one visible eye crinkled—and set and alarm clock on top of the stump he was standing next to.

"This is set to go off at twelve thirty. Your mission is to take a bell from me-" With that he pulled two silver bells from his pouch and tied them to his belt, "-once the time is up, if none of you have taken a bell from me you fail. If you have a bell then you pass."

"But Kakashi-sensei, there's only two bells."

"Good observation Sakura, that means that, no matter what, one of you will be returning to the academy today," he said enthusiastically with another one of his eye smiles.

Oh how Naru wished his words were truth. But she knew all too well that this was all part of the final test to see if they could become Genin or not. And it was her mission to make sure they did not fail.

"Now if you have any hope of passing you must come at me with the intent to kill. Begin!"

* * *

Naru jumped into the bushes along with Sakura and Sasuke. All three of the Genin were surrounding the clearing where Kakashi was standing, reading a certain little orange book. Icha Icha Paradise. She ignored the perverted book for now and instead concentrated on making sure this team passed.

She watched Sasuke confront the Jounin by himself while she pondered. Naru knew for a fact that he couldn't only send one of them back to the academy, Genin were always in three man cells, unless they would later join together the ones that did pass this test and combine those into groups of three.

She continued to ponder and calculate as she watched the Uchiha get pulled underground by the lazy Jounin. It was then that an idea hit her. The most preached about quality of a Genin was teamwork, they were too weak when fighting or working on their own, they needed that teamwork to succeed.

While Hatake went off to find her or Sakura, Naru hesitantly approached Sasuke's head, watching all the while for traps.

Once she was satisfied that there were none she squatted behind the Uchiha's squirming head, "Hey, Sasuke-san."

His head froze and he slowly bent it backwards to see who it was that was behind him. Another blushed rose to his cheeks however when he realized how close she was squatting next to his head, and how awkward a position he was in when he tilted his head back, "Gah! Don't sit behind me like that! Naru was confused but did as he asked and instead kneeled in front of him.

"Sasuke-san, I think I understand the reasoning behind this test," at those words he looked less flustered and his expression changed into one of concentration.

"Would it happen to be team work?"

Naru nodded with her fake-happy smile (not that anyone could tell) and understood that her actions of approaching Sasuke first had given him the clue that he needed.

"Well then help me get out of this, then we can come up with a plan to beat that bastard."

Five minutes later Naru, Sasuke, and Sakura were approaching their target. Kakashi was sitting next to the stump and was once again reading his perverted book.

Sasuke gave the signal and both girls prepared themselves for attack.

They lunged out of the bushes and Sakura threw a punch, which of course Kakashi dodged while slipping his precious book back in his pouch, and to do so he bent over backwards to back flip to avoid getting hit. Naru took that opportunity to make a grab for his bells. But this time Kakashi allowed his body to collapse to the ground while Naru's hand skimmed his opposite side.

When Kakashi tried to get up, he realized that the girl and had ninja wire trailing behind her when she went over him and that he was pinned to the ground. Then at the edge of his senses, he felt Sasuke gathering his chakra for an attack.

Not waiting to see what attack the Genin would think could kill him he allowed his body to be absorbed into the earth without hand signs. He was glad he did so when, a second or two later a giant ball of fire scorched the earth he was tied down to.

The assault didn't stop there and Kakashi had to spend the next few minutes fending off the clumsy, yet organized attack.

He was frustrated to the point that he was ready to knock them all out, when the bell rang signaling the end of their little tussle.

Kakashi called it quits and told them all stand in front of the stump. Although they didn't get one of his bells Kakashi had to pass them as they had obviously figured out the double meaning behind this test.

"You all…Pass!" he chirped in false cheerfulness. He gauged that by their reactions they knew one hundred percent what exactly was going on. So he wasted no time in giving them the whole speech about how those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash and then he called it a night and told the lucky little brats to meet at the same place, same time. He began to gather his chakra to puff away when the Uzumaki brat stopped him.

"Hatake-sensei,"

He turned around and saw that she had her hand held up and resting in the palm was his precious Icha Icha. The orange book seemed to cry for help and he almost choked in his fear. Whenever, Icha Icha was in the hands of a female it was always in danger.

"It's Kakashi-sensei Naru, and please, hand that back to me, slowly, and no one will get hurt."

He could see the evilness pour off her in waves, despite her smile, and he shuddered in fear for his precious.

But in the next instant she handed it back to him with a simple, "Of course _Kakashi_-sensei, I just accidentally grabbed it while I was reaching for the bells."

He wasn't fooled by her innocent act and recognized a threat when he heard one. Before she could do anything else he popped away, orange book cradled in his protective arms.

* * *

Naru sat in her newly, acquired apartment and contemplated her upcoming future. Now that her Genin team was finalized, her true mission began.


End file.
